Andromeda's Goodbye- Book Three
by iampotterlocked
Summary: With all the vampires knowing her secret, the wolves growing in numbers, graduation on the way, and yet another prophecy on the horizon, Meda is busier than ever. But when strange murders start happening in Seattle and all evidence pointing to the work of more vampires, Meda must make choices that could change the fate of many. Book three in the Andromeda Series.
1. Chapter 1

**Book three everyone! Hope you enjoy! And news about the poll- So I'm not too smart when it comes to computers, and just now realized that I could put the poll on my profile. So now, please just go to my profile and the poll should be at the top of the page. Please, I really need feedback on this. Thank you and have fun reading!**

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><p>I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. Well, not really, but it would have if I could've felt pain. I thought I was doing the right thing. "Be the bigger person" as Charlie always told me. I tried to see Jacob a couple times over the weeks the Cullen's had been back. I even tried to call him. I knew that he wasn't too happy with them. The last time I saw him I'd ordered him out and threatened to throw a TV remote at him. So I did what I needed to in order to apologize and repair the friendship. I asked Charlie to ask Billy give him a short note which said, "I'm sorry that I threatened you with physical harm. May we please be friends again?"<p>

"I miss you," he wrote. "But that doesn't change anything. Sorry."

"Son of a bitch," I said to myself, and threw the note in the trash.

"Meda?" Charlie called from downstairs.

"Coming!" I said. Before I stood up I yawned and cracked my back. I moved my box of throwing knives away from the door with my foot and turned off the light of my increasingly chaotic room before going downstairs. "What is it?" I asked him.

"Did you clean your room yet?" he asked, poking something in the pot.

"I'm catching up," I told him.

He sighed.

"On your schoolwork, I hope," he said.

"And on my killing things that are trying to kill me," I added with a grin. "Did you make sandwiches to go with that?" I asked him, pointing to the soup that filled the pot.

"In the fridge," he said absentmindedly.

I pulled out a ham and cheese sandwich and started eating it.

"At the table, please, Meda, I don't ask for much, but please, the table," he said, looking to the ceiling.

I snorted but did as he asked. "What's all this for?" I asked with my mouth full, gesturing to the dinner which he so rarely made.

"We need to have a talk," he said.

"Uh oh," I replied in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm serious Meda. We need to talk about things," he said, serving the soup. I stared at him. What could he mean, 'talk about things?'

He sat down and started eating.

"So?" I asked.

"So what?" he asked back.

"What things do we need to talk about?" I asked. I'd gotten help from Alice and Edward, the only two of the Cullen's still pretending to be in high school. My grades were going up, I was on track to graduate, something I'd never even thought I'd live to see…

"Graduation, specifically, what you're going to do with your life afterward," he said, in a tone that said this topic of conversation should be obvious. "So, do you have any plans?"

My palms started to feel sticky. I hadn't told him about the giants, or the quest, or anything really. He knew that there was a Roman camp, but didn't quite know anything about the plan for Leo, Piper, and Jason to fly the Argo II over here so I could get us to San Francisco as quickly as possible by sea to pick up Percy and the other members of the quest.

"Well… about that…" I started. "I do have plans."

"Really?" he asked. "Could've fooled me. I haven't seen one college application. Not a single one. Are you thinking of that community college in Port Angeles? Because you should go there soon to get in if you're going to-"

"Stop," I blurted, cutting him off.

He was silent as I searched for the words I needed. Two years ago, I'd been fifteen when I told him and Renee about the prophecy. He had been furious that I had kept it from him, and Renee had just cried uncontrollably. The entire time leading up to my sixteenth birthday they'd been terrified for me. I hadn't told him or Renee about yet another prophecy. I didn't want them to worry, truly, I didn't. And the vampires and other things had kept me busy. But I guessed my time for avoidance as up.

"Meda, what are you not saying?" he asked quietly.

"I have to tell you something," I started.

"Meda!" he said sharply.

"But I think mom should hear this too," I continued.

"What have you done?" he groaned.

"I haven't done anything; I just need to tell you something. Okay?" I said. I went upstairs and promptly tripped over my box of knives. The dresser banged against the wall and I cursed at it in ancient Greek as I pulled out three drachmas.

As I shone the flashlight through the crystal and asked for Renee, Charlie got paler.

"Hey, relax," I said in a soft tone with a smile. "I'm invincible."

"Meda?" my mom's voice came through before her image did. She was sitting on the couch alone, wrapped in a blanket. She muted the TV immediately and looked at me and Charlie.

"Hello Renee," he said.

"Hello Charlie," she said amiably.

"I suppose you're wondering why I called you here today," I started in a loud voice, smiling and opening my arms.

"Don't joke around Meda," Charlie warned.

"What's going on?" Renee asked.

"I have something to tell you two," I said.

"Oh my god," she interrupted.

"Mom, I can't tell you anything if you keep saying things while I'm talking!" I said.

"Sorry," she said.

"Well, as you remember, on my sixteenth birthday, Rachel Dare became the new oracle of Delphi," I started. "And after the sprit, well, possessed her, Apollo asked how she was feeling. Then she said something…um… she said a prophecy." I finished. I looked up from the floor into the stressed face of my dad and the confused face of my mom.

"And you're in it, aren't you?" Charlie said, breaking the silence.

I nodded.

He put his face in his hands. "Why did you not tell us this?" he asked.

"Because I didn't want you to worry," I said lamely.

"Meda, we're your parents. It's our job to worry!" Renee said in a choked voice. Her eyes started watering.

"But you'll be fine?" Charlie said the statement like a question.

I guess something in my face must've tipped him off.

"Oh god," he said, covering his face again.

"What does it say?" Renee asked while glaring at me.

"Are you sure you want to-" I started.

"WHAT DOES IT SAY?" she demanded.

I took a deep breath. "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, to storm or fire, the world must fall, an oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

There was silence. Then they exploded at me at the same time.

"How dare you keep this from us? Did you learn nothing the first time around?" Charlie said.

"Meda, why didn't you tell me, you're my daughter, oh my god, oh my god," Renee chanted.

"Would you calm down?" I asked. "You know how good I am, both of you. I mean, come on! I'm nearly eighteen! Do you know how long that is in demigod years? I'm a senior citizen! And, also, Percy and I were prepared to die last time around. We were prepared to die so many times before that. And we lived. So, there'll be seven other powerful demigods on the ship with me. I'll be fine; I swear I'll come back in one piece." I said to reassure them.

"Insert one drachma," an automated voice said.

"Why do the rates keep going up?" I complained before adding another drachma to the rainbow. Charlie snorted at that.

Renee was rubbing her head. "You're going then?"

"Mom I have to. It's my job, besides, Percy will be there." I said.

She snorted. "You should be working at a bookstore or something, not saving the world."

"I should be doing that if I was mortal. But I'm not. And it's no use wishing I was human, because that doesn't change anything, not one thing," I said. "I have to do this. It's what I'm made for."

"You're not a machine!" Charlie said. "You're not made for anything!"

"Half-bloods were made for things like this. It's up to us to keep everyone else safe. You guys do know I love you, right?" I asked.

"Oh Meda, I love you too!" Renee sobbed. "I have to go now, alright?" she abruptly waved her hand through the image.

"I love you too, you know," Charlie said.

"I know," I replied.

"And you'll do your best to come back in one piece?" he asked.

"I always do," I said. There was a pause. "Are you still mad at me?" I asked.

"No," he said shortly.

"Well that's-" I started.

"I'm furious. You're grounded," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't argue with me on this, Meda, you're grounded. No going out-"

"I never do unless it's to kill something!'

"No friends over-"

"What friends? Literally, the only people who talk to me are the Cullens!"

"No cell phone-"

"I never use it anyway!"

"And no TV."

"I hardly ever watch it anymore!" I protested.

"Now go upstairs and clean your room," he said sternly.

I sighed, and dumped my dishes in the dishwasher, rolling my eyes.

"I saw that!" he said.

I rolled my eyes again.

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><p>"He what?" Alice asked.<p>

"Grounded. Me. Grounded. What is there to ground? I'm perfectly fine," I protested.

Alice jumped out of the way as I slammed my truck's door with more force than necessary. "Well maybe you should have told him what you said you should've told him." She said.

"Wow, Alice,' I said in false awe. 'You're so smart."

"Grounded?" Edward asked as he walked up to us.

"Ugh," I said. "Don't remind me."

"What did you not tell him though?" he persisted.

"I'm not telling you," I said haughtily and went to class.

All everyone decided to talk about was the serial killer loose in Seattle. It was a bit odd, but then again, people died all the time. And I hadn't heard anything about it, hadn't even had any bad dreams about anything, so I decided quickly that it wasn't that big of a deal.

But the murders were nothing compared to the hype over graduation. There were brightly colored posters everywhere. Charlie had pressured me into pre-ordering a graduation gown, which was an odd shade of mustard yellow (gag) and made me constantly check with all the teachers to make sure that I could graduate.

Angela was complaining of all the invitations she had to send out.

"Who are you inviting?" Alice asked me.

"Well…..' I said, trying to think of something. "I don't think Sally and Paul will come, she's writing a new book, and is super stressed about it. Renee- I don't know. Things just get so awkward when she and Charlie are in the same room." I trailed off, remembering last night's conversation. Even though she was only in an iris message the awkwardness at the beginning was horrific.

"Well at least you'll have Charlie," Edward said in what looked like an attempt to cheer me up.

But not Percy. The thought came to my mind. He should be here with me; we should be making fun of the yellow gowns, the cheesy posters, the tearful 'heartfelt' messages all over the school. We should be going to college together, spending the summer at camp. But instead we're separate. And he never even graduated. Unless there's an alternative high school in New Rome? The thought distracted me for a minute.

"Alice?" a sharp voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Alice was staring out the window, a blank look on her face. She was having a vision, I knew that look. Edward and I shared a glance and I gently shook her shoulder.

"Alice?" I said loudly. "Wake up," I hissed at her in ancient Greek. That must've worked, her eyes immediately focused on me.

"Sorry," she said with an angelic smile. "Daydreaming, I guess."

I rolled my eyes- something I'd been doing a lot.

"Better daydreaming than having to sit through another two hours," Jessica said darkly as she stabbed her vegetables.

The conversation drifted from there, and I had time to wonder what Alice's vision was about. I let it go for the minute; I knew I'd get it out of her eventually. But then again, she doesn't know and didn't pressure me to tell her about the quest, so if I didn't need to know, I should respect her privacy, I thought.

After I got out of Spanish I focused mostly on not stepping in any puddles on the way to the truck.

"Meda?"

I turned around to see Edward walking to catch up to me.

"Hey," I said. I flinched as a raindrop smacked me right on the head.

"May I come with you?" he asked, gesturing to the passenger door.

"Sure," I said in a yawn as I unlocked it and climbed in.

We sat in silence as I waited for the truck to warm up and the initial rush of students to thin out.

"So you excited for graduation?" I asked to break the silence.

"This will be my nineteenth high school graduation, so no; I can't say I'm too excited. What about you?" he answered.

I took a moment. "Percy should be here," I finally said as I put the truck into reverse and drove out of the parking lot. He didn't reply to that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the wait, hope this chapter will make up for it. I've gotten a couple requests for more action in this book, and I'd just like to say that there will be lots and lots of action, but later in the book. As usual, my updating schedule is iffy, and I don't know when chapter three will be finished. I've also kinda started my hunger games fanfiction too, so the gaps between chapters might be a bit longer. also, PLEASE vote in the poll- its at the top of my profile page, I've had ten votes so far, and more would be so helpful.**

**Happy reading!**

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><p>"Well?" I asked as I pulled into the driveway.<p>

"May I speak to you inside?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied. That was odd.

He was silent for the first few minutes as I busied myself with getting my graduation information papers out and poured myself a bowl of cereal.

"Would you like to go somewhere?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" I was confused. Really, really, confused. "Where would I go?"

"Well Esme decided to get you plane tickets, as a thank you for saving our lives gift but…" he started.

I interrupted him with a laugh. "Plane tickets?" I asked incredulously.

He nodded, looking as confused as I was.

"Plane tickets?" I asked again, trying to make sure.

Again, he nodded.

"I'm the daughter of Poseidon, I put myself on a plane, Zeus will blast me and everyone on that tin tube right out of the sky," I said.

He nodded. "Wait," he said after a moment. "You've never been on a plane? Ever?"

"Well I was once, with Percy, when we were twelve. But the only reason we weren't killed was because we were returning the master bolt to Zeus, and if he had killed us he would have destroyed his best weapon. But he did give us weird looks as we gave it back to him though…" I said as I finished my bowl.

"Of course you did," he said sarcastically.

"Why bring it up though?" I asked, still curious.

"Just thought you might like to get out of town for a couple days, it is the weekend after all," he said.

"I'm grounded, remember?" I said. "Technically I can't have friends over, but I think you're fine with Charlie."

"Thanks, I suppose," he said.

There was yet another slightly awkward pause then I asked the question I'd been meaning to since he started the conversation. "Does this have anything to do with what Alice saw at lunch?" I asked.

"You saw that?" he asked.

"Everyone did," I said with a roll of my eyes. I caught myself as I reached the end, and then tried to unroll them. It didn't work.

"No, this does not," he said eventually, answering my question.

"Well what did she see though?" I asked.

He sighed. "She sees Jasper down south, in a strange place. But it's where his former…family was. But the thing is he doesn't want to go back there. Honestly, he hates it. Hates everyone there. So why would she see him there?" he stared at the wall, and then turned to face me. "Do you know anything about this? You do, don't you?"

I pointed to my chest. "Poseidon. Not Apollo. Get it right."

His cell phone rang at that and he picked it up. "Okay. I'll be right there," he said then turned to face me. "Esme called, we're going hunting and Emmett broke the fridge."

"How does that happen?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "Probably was fighting with Jasper. Well, then, I have to go. Goodbye." He nodded once then left.

"Bye," I said. The door was opened and closed in record time and I felt the light breeze ruffle my hair.

I worked on homework, or tried to, until Charlie came home.

"Hey dad, how was work?" I asked him, trying to be nice.

"That won't work on me," he warned.

"What?" I asked.

"It won't get you ungrounded any easier," he said.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"And it was quiet. Played cards most of the afternoon. I won," he said.

"Congratulations," I offered.

He added, "I was also on the phone with Billy for a while," after a moment.

"How's he doing?" I asked, making sure to keep my face neutral. Charlie knew that the Cullen's were vampires, but he didn't know anything about Jake and the other wolves, and I was going to keep it that way.

"His back's bothering him a bit," Charlie said.

"That's too bad," I said.

"He's also invited us over this weekend, thought the Clearwaters and Uleys over, the playoffs are starting," he added.

"Have fun," I said.

He sighed. "Are you two ever going to make up?" he asked.

"Well, I did tell him that I'd like to be friends with him again," I said sharply. "But he doesn't like the Cullen's coming back. And they're my friends, so I think he knows where to shove it."

Charlie laughed at that. "You should be a poet," he said.

"No, I should be a professional surfer," I replied.

"That'd be cheating!" he said, looking shocked.

I laughed that time, and put my papers away in order to eat dinner.

I was loading the dishwasher when a knock sounded at the door. Charlie went to open it. "I haven't seen you for ages!" I heard him say.

"Well, I decided to fix that immediately," a high voice said.

"Get out," I said, rinsing off my hands in the sink.

"Don't be that way, Meda," Alice said, poking me between my shoulder blades.

"Can't you leave me alone for any amount of time?" I asked her.

"I think the real question is, do you want to come over tonight?" Alice said. "We all miss you so much."

I pointed to Charlie. "Grounded," was all I said.

He rolled his eyes that time- was that where I picked up the habit? - And said, "get out, both of you," to us.

My mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes, I am, now get out of here before I change my mind," he said.

"Okay," I said, slowly getting my coat.

"On one condition," he said. Damn, I should've moved faster.

"Okay," I repeated, standing in place.

"You clean that room," he said.

"Fine," was all I said.

"Meds, I'm warning you. I don't want to see any knives, or tridents, or arrows, or dirty socks lying around tomorrow after I get off work, alright?" he said.

I laughed at how tridents and knives were in the same category as dirty socks. "You got it, captain," I said, doing a two finger salute.

"Don't get sarcastic now," he warned.

"Bye!" I said, closing the door behind me, still laughing. "I won't be out too late!" I added as I unlocked the truck.

I was welcomed to the house warmly, with the usual exception of Rosalie, who stayed in her room. Esme showed off the kitchen a bit, my breaking the plumbing was a good excuse to not only fix, but upgrade a vast majority of the kitchen. The fridge was missing, though, which she complained about lightly to Emmett.

Carlisle then took me aside and gestured to the cross on the wall. "Should I take it down?" he asked me in a low voice.

"Why?" I asked, looking at the nearly four century year old cross. It had belonged to his father, and really was quite beautiful.

He looked uncomfortable. "I mean, you know, does it offend them?" he asked.

"Who?" I asked. "They look fine with it," I added, looking over at everyone watching Edward and Alice play chess. He could read her mind to see which moves she was going to make, and she could look into the future to see any possible moves he'd make. Most of the game was played in their heads.

"No," he said, sounding frustrated, "does it offend them?" he asked, pointing to the ceiling.

"Oh," I said, taking a moment to realize how thickheaded I must've looked. "Nah, I wouldn't worry. The Greek gods aren't the only ones out there. Really, it was the strength of the belief of humans that created them. They're still around because they have a huge influence on western culture. So the chances that there's a god with a capital G is really good. Billions of people believe in that, so you're fine," I said. "Keep it up if you'd like."

He looked relived. "Thank you," he said, grasping my arm. He suddenly dropped it. "Am I allowed to do that?"

I rolled my eyes. "As long as I'm not actively fighting anything, go right ahead," I told him with a grin. He smiled at that, and Esme was behind him, looking relived. From the look on her face he had been having a crisis that I'd just successfully ended.

Edward sat in the truck as I drove back. I wondered why I couldn't be trusted to drive myself back but didn't say anything about it, just made sarcastic remarks about his age when he decided to start making jokes about the age of my truck. That weekend was odd, of course I was grounded and couldn't do anything, but I always had a visitor over. Alice was by on Saturday, and on Sunday Jasper visited, which was strange. I had a distinct feeling he didn't like me that much, but his ability to calm people lessened the awkwardness between us a little bit. To make matters worse I didn't even find one single monster to kill. On Monday morning I was eating breakfast while being bored out of my mind when the phone rang. I looked at the caller id and saw that it was Jacob's number. Briefly, I wondered if I should pick up at all-he had been ignoring me for quite some time. But I decided to pick up anyway. He'd been very adamant over ignoring me; something might've come up to change his mind. Besides, it could be Billy calling Charlie anyway.

"Hello?" I asked as I answered the phone.

"Meda," Jacob said. I closed my eyes, wondering why he decided to call me now after so long.

"Why are you calling me?" I asked.

He paused, and I heard him groan. "I'm sorry, Meda, really, I am. It's just that… I couldn't."

"Is it because Sam said so?" I asked him quietly.

"Something like that. Hey, are you going to school today?" he asked, the abrupt change in topic making my head spin.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

"No reason," he said.

"Yes, there has to be a reason!" I told him. The buzzing in my ear told me that he'd hung up. I cursed loudly and slammed the phone down.

"What's that about?" Charlie asked.

"You don't wanna know," I told him darkly.

I drove to school a bit more aggressively than usual. When I parked I took a deep breath and wondered what was going on with everything. I angrily grabbed my backpack and opened the door, slamming Edward's side.

"Why were you standing right there?" I asked him angrily.

"Where?" he asked, looking down at his feet and back at me.

"Like, I'm just saying, there were lots of places you could've stood, but why did you have to stand, right freaking there? Is there some sort of sign? Is that it? Like you have to stand right there, almost dent my door, and still not fucking move?" I asked. I'd gestured wildly throughout my mini rant and some people were passing by and looking at me strangely.

"Okay," he said, giving me a weird look.

"What?" I asked him.

"Could I ask you a question?" he said.

"You mean ask me two, because that question was a question but I don't think you wanted to ask me that question as the question you wanted to ask me," I said.

"Well, yes," he said, matching his steps to mine as I walked to the building. "But could you wait here, like, five minutes?" he asked.

It started to rain just then, and I fixed him with a glare.

"Well, it wouldn't have worked anyway," he said to himself as I hurried inside.

There was a crowd of students near the building, and as I pushed my way through them I understood why.

"Son of a bitch," I said, glaring at Jacob. Edward laughed at that. "Don't start with me," I warned him as I stalked up to Jacob. "Is this why you called me?" I asked him icily. He'd parked his motorcycle on the sidewalk, under the cover. I could see other students giving him a wide buffer and wondered why. Then I looked at him, really looked at him. He'd looked like he'd grown another couple inches-if that was possible-and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Not a real shirt, anyway. It was a half sleeved shirt with a leather vest over it. He wasn't wearing a helmet either, and his jeans had most certainly seen better days. Then I realized why people were staying away from him. He looked dangerous.

"Yes, it is," he said with a shit eating grin.

"You could've called, you know," Edward said quietly. Alice appeared behind him, her nose was slightly wrinkled as she looked at Jacob with distaste.

"I don't have a leech on speed dial, you know," Jacob said, his nose turned up as well.

"Oh my gods," I said quietly, covering my face.

"This is hardly the time or place," Edward started but was interrupted.

"Sure, I'll stop by your crypt after classes are out then," Jacob said.

"Oh my gods," I repeated. I didn't move my hands from my face. What was going on?

There was a pause. "Consider your message delivered and us warned."

That word snapped me out of it. "Warned?" I asked.

Jacob looked very surprised. "You didn't tell her?" he asked Alice and Edward. Alice put her hand on my shoulder.

"Tell me what?" I hissed, looking between the three of them.

"His…brother crossed the line on Saturday night," Jacob announced. "The real big one, really muscly…"

"Emmett," I supplied.

"Yeah, that one. Anyway, Paul was totally justified in doing what he did." Jacob finished this bit with a glimmer in his eyes.

"That was no man's land!" Edward said.

"Why were you two even near each other? Were you fighting? Did someone get hurt?" I asked all three of them. I turned to look at Alice. She didn't meet my eyes.

"Everyone's fine, Meda." Edward said.

"What. Is. Going. On." I asked them all in a low voice. I fought to keep control of my anger, the plumbing at this school was old enough, and I doubted I needed to make it any worse.

"Calm down," Edward said softly. "Nobody fought, nobody was hurt."

"You didn't tell her anything?" Jacob said. He looked honestly taken aback.

"Tell me what, Jake, since they obviously won't?" I asked.

He sighed. "She's come back for you."

That made a lot of sense. Why Alice had that vision, Edward asking if I'd like to leave, Alice coming over on Saturday, Jasper on Sunday. And that made me furious. Because here they were, trying to coddle me, and I could've taken Vicky out in a few minutes if I needed to.

"Well then," I said.

"Thought you had a right to know," Jacob said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's your life."

Edward practically growled. "She was never in danger." He said.

"We should get to class," Alice said.

I sighed. "Leave," I told Jacob.

The principal pushed his way through the crowd of students. "Is there a problem here?" he asked.

"No," I said shortly.

"Well then, let's not dawdle on our way to class," he advised in a nervous voice. The crowd slowly dissolved and the usual morning chatter started up again.

I looked at Jake again. I had missed him, missed him so much. Seeing him here made me want to go back to La Push and work in the garage again, fixing ruined motorcycles, hanging out with the group of his friends and so on. But I couldn't do that anymore, not with the information I'd just found out.

"You should leave," I said to him and turned around to get to English.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, just a couple quick announcements. **

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**3. updating schedule for this series is going to be wonky. (love that word) School and graduation are my top priorities right now, and although I love you all, and thank you so much for following my work, I have to adult first. Right now I'm doing about one chapter every two weeks or so.**

**Happy Reading!**

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><p>I was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. School seemed more monotonous than ever. I just wanted to leave and take Vicky out myself, but stayed in class. At lunch I stormed over to the table where Alice and Edward were already waiting for me. If I knew any better, I'd say that they were nervous. Alice was rubbing her head repeatedly. I pulled out a chair violently, making it scrape across the floor. The noise was lost in the commotion of the lunchroom, but it had the effect I wanted-they both flinched slightly.<p>

"So," I said.

Alice sighed and the look on her face told me she was dreading this conversation. "Yes Meda?"

"What the fuck?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"We're so sorry," Edward started.

"Yeah, you should be," I said. "But you know what? I'm not going to waste time on this shit right now. Because after school, I'm going to your house, and I'm going to yell at all of you at the same time, alright?"

"Would you please let us explain?" Edward said.

I contemplated that for a bit. "Sure, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to yell at you all after school. Go right ahead."

"Last week, Alice saw Victoria come back," he started.

"Wait- how did you even know about that in the first place?" I asked. "I never told you."

"I saw it in Alice's mind. Jacob," he said the name like it was a terrible disease, "came to your house when she came back. And you had the fight with him, so Alice's memories showed me all I need to know."

"Alright," I said.

"So we all tracked her," he said, picking up where he left off before I interrupted him.

"Well not all of us," Alice said.

"Is that why you were at my house on Saturday?" I asked. "And on Sunday you left poor Jasper at my house too. You know how awkward it gets."

"Yes that's what happened," Alice said. "And Emmett and Jasper almost had her last night..."

"But she escaped to the Quileute territory," Edward finished. "And Alice couldn't see her anymore, because of the wolves."

Alice's nose wrinkled in annoyance.

"So then what happened?" I asked quietly.

He rolled his eyes. "The big gray one thought Emmett had crossed the line, then Rosalie reacted to that, and then everything fell apart. If it wasn't for Jasper I don't know what would've happened."

"Huh," I said. The bell rang. "I'm still going to yell at you after class," I promised and walked away.

The last half of the day was basically torture. I'd had my pencils in my hands at all times, and for some reason my knee was always bouncing. People gave me some space, and even teachers didn't comment on my lack of note taking. I guess something in my face must've tipped them off.

I followed Alice and Edward back to their house. Unsurprisingly, everyone was already in the main room when I walked in, so I didn't waste time on discussing anything that wasn't Vicky.

"Why didn't any of you tell me?" I asked, dropping my backpack on the floor and glaring at them.

"Meda dear, we didn't want you to worry," Esme said.

I was silent at that. Many sarcastic remarks were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't say anything. Silence could be very loud, especially if I needed to get information out of someone.

"Aren't you busy enough?" Rosalie said to me in an accusatory tone. "Fighting monsters, saving the world, that sort of thing." She waved her arms at the end, making her little speech something that could set me off if she wasn't careful.

"Don't start anything with me," I warned her.

"But it's true, you're already busy with many things," Esme said, breaking up what could've been a fight. "We didn't want you to worry over something we could do easily."

"Oh," I said, putting my hand over my heart dramatically. "Well if it's so damn easy, why isn't she dead?"

There was silence. Good. I'd shocked them.

"Can't we take care of this one thing though?" Emmett said. "You got James, the wolves got Laurent, can't we get the other one? It's no fair if you do everything." He finished with a grin.

"Well it would've been fair to know a psychotic bitch was coming to kill me," I said. "But obviously a head's up would've been too much to ask."

"And we're sorry," Carlisle said. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," I said.

He ignored that and went on. "We should've told you. We just thought that with the help of the wolves we could take care of it. We were wrong, and very sorry."

I stayed silent. I mean, I did get their point. They saw how busy and stressed out I was, and just wanted to help. But at the same time I had a right to know. I sighed and made my decision. "Next time she comes back you warn me. She's all yours in the meantime." Then I walked out of the house. Then I turned around and walked back in. they hadn't moved. "If she gets anywhere near Charlie I'm going to kill her myself, and none of you can stop me," I announced. Then I walked back out again.

My mind was going a mile a minute as I started my truck and drove back to town. I needed to talk to Jacob, I knew that. If the wolves and Cullen's were working together I needed to know. I wondered briefly if Alice would try to stop me, but she probably knew better. The drive took about a half hour, during which I cemented my plan.

The roar of my truck probably alerted Jacob that I was coming. He was already outside his house with a confused expression on his face. When I climbed out and locked the door, he was already jogging toward me and smiling.

I glared at him, and he slowed down a few feet away from me.

"Am I not allowed to be glad you're here?" he asked.

"No," I said shortly. "I'm still mad at you."

He grinned. And after a few seconds I smiled back.

There was a clattering noise and Billy pushed his wheelchair up the ramp and to the door. "Welcome back," he said with a small smile.

"Thanks," I said. I moved out of the way to let him pass.

"He went to the Clearwater's place," Jacob explained. "They're having a rough time."

"I'm sure they are," was all I offered. "I missed this," I told him after a pause.

"I did too," he said. "Why did you come back?"

I chose my words carefully. "Because you're the one that told me that she came back. I've yelled at them all since then, but right now I'm still mad."

"I didn't know they didn't tell you," he said.

"And, for some weird reason, when I'm here I feel vaguely normal," I finished. And I didn't lie. The Cullen's knew what I was, but to Jake I was still a normal human. And that felt nice. The Cullen's seemed to always be walking on eggshells around me, like they thought I'd snap and kill someone at any minute. Jake didn't think of me like that. When he saw me all he saw was a high school senior, someone with a missing brother, and a friend. He didn't see me as otherworldly or a freak. And I'd missed that more than I could admit.

"So what've you been up to since last time?" he asked. We started walking along the short road and were at the beach in no time.

"Are you sure you wanna know?" I asked him with a grin.

"Absolutely," he said.

So I told him about Edward going to the Volturi, and how everyone except Rosalie brought him back. I even told him about the Volturi coming to Forks, something that made him curse loudly and throw a rock into the ocean. He already knew everything, what was the point in hiding it? I gave him a look and he promised he wouldn't interrupt me again. When I got to the part about finding out about Vicky, though, he laughed when I described Alice.

"That psychic leech can't see us?'" he asked. "Fantastic!"

I gave him a bland look and he quieted down. We moved to a big driftwood tree, the trunk bleached white from the sun. We sat on it, like we used to.

"Sorry," he said.

He looked so forcibly guilty I had to laugh. 'Well that's pretty much it," I told him. "Now, you owe me."

"Owe you what?" he asked.

"So you and the Cullen's are working together?" I asked.

He shuddered at that. "Absolutely not!" he said. He made it sound like even the thought was disgusting. "It was an accident."

"Oh," I said. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "I was running patrol with Embry and Quil, when we came across the trail. It was pretty fresh, only…" he trailed off. "I'd say fifteen, twenty minutes old. So Sam wanted us to wait a few minutes, see what happens, but we didn't know if they told you, or if she went after you or not. But she had a head start, and went over the line before we could catch up. So we waited, hoping that she'd come back. Then the Cullen's chased her back here, but they herded her too far north." He said.

"How disappointing," I said, slightly sarcastically.

"It is!" he said. "And she was right on the line, and Sam and Jared caught up before the rest of us did. Then the big one…"

"Do you mean Emmett?" I asked.

'Yeah, him, he tried to tackle her, you know. But she's fast," he said.

I filed that information away; sure I'd need it later. "How fast?" I asked.

"I don't know how fast," he said. "But just, really, really fast. So she got out of the way, and then Emmett," he looked at me for clarification, and I nodded, "crashed into Paul."

I cringed. Paul was easily one of the most unstable of the pack. I still remembered telling him off on the freeway and him turning into a wolf in front of me.

"And then everything fell apart,' he said sadly. "The blonde went to him, and that freaked Quil out, then everyone stopped going after her and she escaped. The thing was, the doctor, tried to get everyone to calm down, but it didn't work until the other blond guy came over," he said.

"The doctor is Carlisle, and the 'other blond guy' is Jasper, you know that, right?" I asked. It would just be so much easier if he just knew everyone's name and I didn't have to guess who he meant.

He rolled his eyes. "Well then Jasper is annoying. I knew about the emotions thing, but it didn't stop me from hating it. But I couldn't get mad until later," he mused. "It's a pretty cool thing though."

I laughed. For some reason the idea of Jake being able to calm people down was funny. He was always so full of life and ready to kill a vampire, the idea of him wanting everyone to be mellowed out was hilarious.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Just the idea of you being all calm and everything, calming people down and stuff," I said.

He smiled. "Yeah, it would be dumb with me doing it." He paused, looking like he was seriously debating whether to tell me something.

I looked at the sea. It was beautiful, calm, and quiet. I could feel the power, though. "Spit it out, Jake," I told him.

He sighed. "What did he tell you?"

"Basically what you told me," I said. "Less detailed, of course, but that's pretty much it."

"Huh," he said. Well she'll be back soon, and then we'll get another shot at her," he said cheerfully.

But would I really be told next time? I made a mental note to watch Alice's behavior carefully, and for that matter, everyone else's too.

"Do you ever think about what would've happened if you didn't cliff dive?" he asked me.

That was an odd question. "No, why would I?" I asked.

"Well then they wouldn't have come back," he said. "They wouldn't know anything."

I thought about that. "I don't waste time thinking of what ifs, Jake. I'd kill myself if I did. Besides, can't change anything in the past. That's done."

'Yeah,' he said. We were silent for a while.

I realized that the sun had started to set while we were talking. The world was silent except for the chirping of birds and the rushing noise of the ocean.

"You should probably get going, right?" Jake asked. He sounded kind of disappointed. "Or else Charlie will be wondering where you went off too."

I cringed. "And I'm grounded, I forgot," I said.

He looked very surprised. "How did you get grounded?" he asked. "I thought you were one of those 'I can't do anything wrong' sort of kids to him."

"Well, apparently, I can do wrong," I said. "I know, I know, I'm just as surprised as you are," I said sarcastically, drawing a laugh out of him.

He stood up and I realized how tall he'd gotten within the past few months. "Then I should walk you to your truck," he said.

We were silent as we went to the truck. The roar of the engine made me jump a little bit, and then we laughed at the silliness of my reaction together. The last thing I saw before leaving the town was Jacob waving to me in the rearview mirror.


End file.
